《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第14则
Never Compete. Every competition damages the credit: our rivals seize occasion to obscure us so as to outshine us. Few wage honourable war. Rivalry discloses faults which courtesy would hide. Many have lived in good repute while they had no rivals. The heat of conflict gives life, or even new life, to dead scandals, and digs up long-buried skeletons. Competition begins with belittling, and seeks aid wherever it can, not only where it ought. And when the weapons of abuse do not effect their purpose, as often or mostly happens, our opponents use them for revenge, and use them at least for beating away the dust of oblivion from anything to our discredit. Men of good-will are always at peace; men of good repute and dignity are men of good-will.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题与正文是一句话的两半：Never competer——永远不要竞争，因为每一种竞争都会损害你的声誉。正文随即展开了一个近乎逐层剥落的论证。 葛拉西安开篇提出的不是一个道德告诫，而是一套关于名誉经济的冷峻计算。竞争对手会抓住一切机会遮蔽你的光芒，以便自己显得更亮。他紧接着补了一句堪称全书最不留情面的判断之一：很少有人发起体面的战争。这话放在16…